KR20130110015A - Vacuum evaporation apparatus and method for replacing crucibles in vacuum evaporation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A vacuum deposition apparatus and an exchange method of the crucible thereof are provided to successively perform the deposition by smoothly changing a crucible without stopping the deposition. CONSTITUTION: A vacuum deposition apparatus includes a vacuum deposition container (10), evaporation devices (13A,13B), transferring pipes (14A,14B), a joint pipe (16), and continuous deposition operation portions (17A,17B). The vacuum deposition container discharges a deposition material from a deposition nozzle and performs the deposition on a subject under the predetermined vacuum condition. A heater for evaporation is provided. Two transferring pipes are connected with each of evaporation devices. The joint pipe joins the deposition material discharged from each of transferring pipes, and then transfers the deposition material to the deposition nozzle. The two continuous deposition operation portions are installed to each transferring pipes.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a crucible exchange method for a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus and a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus,

The present invention relates to a vacuum evaporator capable of continuously depositing an evaporation material on an object to be evaporated in a vacuum container over a long period of time, and a method for replacing a crucible in a vacuum evaporator.

In the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus, the crucible for containing the evaporation material deteriorates when it is used for heating the evaporation material for a long time. Therefore, in order to determine the capacity corresponding to the deposition (heating) time and continuously deposit over a long period of time, it is necessary to replace the used crucible with the smaller amount of the evaporation material and the new crucible containing the new evaporation material have.

In a vapor deposition apparatus in which a vapor deposition object such as a substrate and a crucible are disposed in a vacuum container, it is necessary to once return the inside of the vacuum container to atmospheric pressure at the time of replacing the crucible, then vacuum the inside of the vacuum container again after replacement, The deposition process is stopped and waste of time occurs.

To solve this problem, the present applicant proposes a technique described in Japanese Patent No. 4570403.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-348754 discloses a vacuum evaporation apparatus which comprises a vacuum evaporation vessel for evacuating an evaporation material from a deposition nozzle under a predetermined vacuum condition and evaporating the evaporation material onto an evaporation object, There is disclosed a vacuum evaporation apparatus having an evaporation apparatus and a confluence transfer tube for connecting these two evaporation apparatuses to a deposition nozzle. The two evaporators allow the crucible to be housed in a vacuum container capable of vacuum processing, and the crucible can be lifted and raised by the lifting cylinder device in the vacuum container to be connected to the discharge pipe. These evaporation apparatuses discharge the evaporation material generated by heating the crucible by the heating device from the discharge pipe to the confluence conveying pipe through the needle valve which can be closed and flow-regulated, and discharge the evaporation material from the evaporation nozzle.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 4570403

However, the two vacuum evaporation apparatuses require a vacuum vessel for replacement and a cylinder apparatus for lifting the crucible, respectively, so that the entire apparatus becomes large. Further, since the crucible is exchanged in the vacuum container, it takes time to perform the exchanging operation and the vacuum processing operation.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum evaporation apparatus and a vacuum evaporation apparatus in which a crucible can be smoothly replaced and continuously deposited without stopping evaporation, .

In the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention according to claim 1,

At least two vaporizing devices each having a vacuum vapor deposition container for drawing an evaporation material from a deposition nozzle under a predetermined vacuum condition and evaporating the evaporation material onto an object, a crucible containing the evaporation material, and a heating device for evaporation for heating the crucible, At least two transfer tubes connected to the evaporation apparatuses respectively, a merging tube for merging the evaporation materials discharged from the transfer tubes to the evaporation nozzle, and at least two successive evaporation manipulation units provided for the transfer tubes and,

Each successive deposition operation section includes a degassing mechanism connected to the conveyance pipe and having a degassing valve inserted thereinto sequentially from the evaporation device side, a partition valve capable of closing and opening the conveyance pipe, and a flow rate adjustment valve capable of adjusting the flow rate of the evaporation material Respectively,

The crucible of the evaporation apparatus connected to the conveyance pipe is opened to the atmosphere to be replaced with a new crucible by closing the partition valve of the continuous deposition operation unit corresponding to the crucible to be exchanged at the time of replacing the crucible, And a continuous vapor deposition controller for controlling to open the partition valve after the valve is opened and the air in the transfer pipe is degassed from the degassing machine to a predetermined vacuum condition.

In the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention according to claim 2, in the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention according to claim 1,

The transfer pipe, the partition valve, the flow rate control valve, and the confluent pipe,

The continuous deposition controller turns off the heating apparatus for evaporating the crucible and the heating apparatus for the conveyance pipe and the heating apparatus for the partition valve at the time of replacing the crucible and also turns on the heating apparatus for the flow rate adjusting valve and the heating apparatus for the merging tube .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a crucible-

At least two vaporizing devices each having a vacuum vapor deposition container for drawing an evaporation material from a deposition nozzle under a predetermined vacuum condition and evaporating the evaporation material onto an object, a crucible containing the evaporation material, and a heating device for evaporation for heating the crucible, At least two transfer tubes each of which is connected to each of the evaporation apparatuses, a confluence tube which merges the evaporation materials emitted from the respective transfer tubes to send them to a deposition nozzle, and a continuous deposition operation unit, A degassing valve connected to the transfer pipe between the evaporator and the confluence pipe and having a degassing valve inserted therein, a partition valve capable of closing and opening the transfer pipe, and a flow rate regulating valve capable of regulating the flow rate of the evaporation material, In the installed vacuum vapor deposition apparatus, the degree of the vapor deposition apparatus According to the to exchange,

A material replacement step of closing the partition valve and the flow rate adjustment valve of the continuous deposition operation unit corresponding to one evaporation apparatus that has supplied the evaporation material and opening the partition valve and the flow rate adjustment valve of the continuous deposition operation unit corresponding to the other evaporation apparatus and,

A crucible exchange step of opening the one evaporator to the atmosphere and replacing the crucible,

A vacuum processing step of opening a degassing valve of a continuous deposition operation section corresponding to one of the evaporation apparatuses to which the crucible has been exchanged and performing vacuum processing in the transfer tube of the same continuous deposition operation section and in the evaporation apparatus,

A preheating step of heating the crucible of the one evaporator to the preheat temperature

.

The crucible replacement method in the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention according to claim 4 is the crucible replacement method in the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention,

The transfer tube, the partitioning valve, the flow rate adjusting valve and the confluence tube of each successive evaporation operating section are heated to a temperature at which the evaporation material does not adhere to the condensation,

In the material replacement step and the crucible replacement step, the heating of the flow rate adjustment valve of the continuous deposition operation portion corresponding to one evaporation device for exchanging the crucible is maintained, and the heating of the partition valve and the transfer pipe of the continuous deposition operation portion is stopped .

According to the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention according to claim 1, the conveying pipe is closed by the partition valve, and then the evaporator is opened to the atmosphere, and the used crucible can be exchanged with the new crucible. Since the crucible is exchanged and then the degassing valve is opened to remove the crucible in the transfer tube and the evaporator from the degassing mechanism, the atmosphere does not penetrate into the vacuum evaporation vessel when the partition valve is opened to start vapor deposition, I do not need to flush myself again. Further, since the evaporation device can be made simple by the crucible and the vapor deposition heating device, and the crucible can be detached from the atmosphere, the evaporation device can be miniaturized and the exchange operation can be simplified. Further, at the time of replacing the crucible, since the partition valve is closed, the flow rate adjusting valve is not exposed to the atmosphere at a high temperature, so deterioration of the flow rate adjusting valve can be prevented.

According to the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention as set forth in claim 2, when the crucible is exchanged, the crucible can be exchanged smoothly by lowering the temperatures of the crucible, the conveying pipe and the partitioning valve, So that corrosion and deterioration of the partition valve can be significantly reduced. Further, it is possible to maintain the confluent pipe and the flow rate adjusting valve at a temperature higher than the condensation temperature of the evaporation material, so that the evaporation material can be prevented from adhering to the flow rate regulation valve and growing.

According to the crucible replacement method in the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention according to claim 3, in the material replacement step, a new evaporation material is supplied from the crucible of another evaporation apparatus by switching the opening and closing of the partition valve and the flow rate adjusting valve, In the exchange step, the used crucible, in which the evaporated material is absent, is replaced with a new crucible containing the evaporation material, and in the vacuum processing step, the crucible is exchanged via the degassing apparatus, The crucible after the replacement is heated to the preheating temperature in the preheating step by the vacuum process so that the crucible can be swiftly exchanged into the new crucible without mixing the atmosphere even if the evaporation material in the crucible is not used.

According to the crucible replacing method of the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention according to claim 4, the heating of the flow rate adjusting valve is maintained at the time of replacing the crucible, so that condensation and adhesion of the evaporation material to the flow rate adjusting valve can be prevented In addition, by stopping the heating of the partition valve and lowering the temperature, it is possible to prevent the partition valve at a high temperature state from being exposed to the atmosphere, thereby reducing corrosion and deterioration thereof.

1 is a schematic structural view showing an embodiment of the vacuum vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram of the same vacuum deposition apparatus.
3 is a flow chart showing a crucible exchange sequence.
Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the crucible exchange operation 1. Fig.
Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the crucible exchange operation 2. Fig.
Fig. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the crucible exchange operation 3. Fig.
Fig. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the crucible exchange operation 4. Fig.
8 is an explanatory diagram of the crucible exchange operation 5. Fig.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a crucible exchanging method in a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus and a vacuum vapor deposition apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 8. Fig.

(Structure of vacuum deposition apparatus)

1, the vacuum evaporation apparatus includes a vacuum evaporation vessel 10 for forming an evaporation chamber 11, first and second evaporation apparatuses 12A and 12B including first and second crucibles 12A and 12B, First and second conveyance pipes 14A and 14B to which the first and second vaporizers 13A and 13B are detachably connected and the first and second conveyance pipes 14A and 14B, (Manifold) 16 for delivering the evaporation material from the first and second transfer tubes 14A and 14B to the evaporation nozzle 15 and the first and second continuous evaporation operation sections 17A and 17B. The members from the first and second evaporators 13A and 13B to the confluent pipe 16 are provided outside the vacuum evaporation vessel 10 and the evaporation nozzles 15 are disposed outside the vacuum evaporation vessel 10 And is installed inside.

The deposition chamber 11 is provided with a substrate 21 supported via a support and a deposition nozzle 15 for depositing an evaporation material by drawing the evaporation material onto the substrate 21, And a shutter device 24 disposed between the deposition nozzle 15 and the substrate 21 for switching supply and stop of the evaporation material.

The confluent pipe 16 is provided with two introduction ports 16i and 16i which are disposed at the outer lower portion of the vacuum evaporation container 10 and open to both lower ends and an outlet port 16o that opens to the upper center. The deposition nozzle 15 is installed through the bottom wall of the vacuum evaporation vessel 10 and is connected to the outlet 16o.

The first and second evaporation apparatuses 13A and 13B and the first and second transfer tubes 14A and 14B and the joining tube 16 and the first and second continuous deposition operation units 17a and 17B Are the same structure, only one of them will be described below.

The first and second vaporizers 13A and 13B are constituted such that first and second crucibles 12A and 12B accommodating evaporation materials are accommodated respectively in tubular crucible receptors 31A and 31B having bottom faces to be. The crucible receivers 31A and 31B can be connected to the openings of the conveyance pipes 14A and 14B by the connection mechanisms 32 and 32 including a screw mechanism and a clamp mechanism respectively, can do. These crucible receivers 31A and 31B are provided with first and second evaporating heaters 30A and 30B for heating and evaporating the evaporation material through the first and second crucibles 12A and 12B.

The first and second continuous deposition operation sections 17A and 17B are branched from the first and second conveyance pipes 14A and 14B in order from the first and second crucibles 12A and 12B side, The first and second degassing units 34A and 34B connected to the pump 37 and having the first and second degassing valves 33A and 33B inserted therein and the first and second transfer pipes 14A and 14B (For example, gate valves) 35A and 35B that can be closed and a flow rate of the evaporation material to be sent out from the first and second conveyance pipes 14A and 14B to the confluent pipe 16 (For example, needle valves) 36A and 36B that can be adjusted.

In addition, in these passages or valves and the vacuum evaporation vessel 10 in which the evaporation material is contacted when the evaporation material is conveyed, the evaporation material 10 is heated in an electric furnace And a heating device such as a heater are respectively installed. Specifically, these heating apparatuses heat the first and second conveyance pipes 14A and 14B (including a part of the first and second degassing units 34A and 34B and the degassing valve 33) First and second partition pipe heating devices 42A and 42B for heating the first and second partition pipe heating devices 41A and 41B and the first and second partitioning valves 35A and 35B, First and second flow rate regulating valve heating devices 43A and 43B for heating the first and second flow rate adjusting valves 36A and 36B respectively and a confluent pipe heating device 44 for heating the confluent pipe 16, And a nozzle heating device 45 for heating the deposition nozzle 22, respectively. In Fig. 1, the heating apparatus of the vacuum evaporation vessel 10 is omitted from the drawing. As shown in Fig. 2, the heating apparatuses 30A, 30B, 41A, 41B, 42A, 42B, 43A, 43B, 44 and 45 are connected to the detection value of the rate detector 23 by the continuous deposition controller 40 And is controlled through each of the operation devices. For example, on-off control.

The first and second degassing valves 33A and 33B and the first and second partitioning valves 35A and 35B and the first and second flow regulating valves 36A and 36B are controlled by the continuous deposition controller 40 Is operated through the manipulator of

(Crucible exchange order)

The procedure for replacing the crucible for continuous deposition will be described with reference to FIGS.

[STEP 1-3] "Deposition step" - FIG. 4

A thin film is deposited on the substrate 21 under a predetermined vacuum condition using the evaporation material of the second crucible 12B. At this time, the respective heating devices 41A to 43A, 41B to 43B, 44 and 45 are in the ON state, the valves 35A and 36A of the first continuous deposition operation part 17a are in the closed state, (33A, 33B) are in a closed state. The second evaporation heating device 30B is turned on and the evaporation material is evaporating. On the other hand, the first evaporation heating apparatus 30A is in the ON state, but is in the preheated state in which the evaporation material does not evaporate. And the second partition valve 35B is opened. When the deposition rate detected by the rate detector 23 is lower than the threshold value (threshold value), the second flow rate regulating valve 36B is opened and the opening degree is controlled by the continuous deposition controller 40, (36B) is increased so as to obtain an appropriate deposition rate.

[STEP.3-5] "Material Replacement Step" - FIG. 5

When the deposition rate detected by the rate detector 23 is lower than the threshold value (threshold value) and the second flow adjustment valve 36B reaches the opening limit, the continuous deposition controller 40 controls the deposition material of the second crucible 12B I think it is gone. The controller 40 sets the first evaporation heating device 30A from the preliminary heating state to the evaporation heating state and evaporates the evaporation material of the first crucible 12A and thereafter the second flow regulation valve 36B and the The first flow control valve 36A and the first partition valve 35A are opened and the evaporation material of the first crucible 12A is discharged through the confluence pipe 16 to the deposition nozzle 15). Whereby the evaporation source of the evaporation material is transferred from the second crucible 12B to the first crucible 12A.

[STEP.6] "Exchange step" - Fig. 5

The heating of the second evaporation heating device 30B is stopped to stop the heating of the second crucible 12B and the second conveying pipe heating device 41B and the second partition valve heating device 42B are turned off to stop heating To lower their temperature. This is because when the crucible receiver 31B of the second evaporator 13B is removed from the second conveyance pipe 14B, the second compartment valve heating device 42B is exposed to the low-temperature atmosphere to be introduced, And the like.

[Step 7] " Exchange step " - Fig. 6

The crucible receiver 31B is removed from the second conveyance pipe 14B and the crucible receiver 31B having the used second crucible 12B with almost no evaporation material disappears and a new second The crucible receiver 31B having the crucible 12B is exchanged. Then, the exchanged crucible receiver 31B is connected to the second conveyance pipe 14B. Of course, only the second crucible 12B can be exchanged without exchanging the crucible receiver 31B.

[Step 8] " Vacuum processing step &

The second degassing valve 33B is opened for a predetermined time to evacuate the inside of the crucible receiver 31B, the second crucible 12B and the second conveyance pipe 14B through the second degassing vessel 34B, As shown in FIG.

[STEP.9] " Preheating step " - Fig. 8

The second evaporation heating device 30B is turned on to put the evaporation material in a preheated state in which evaporation does not occur and the second conveyance pipe heating device 41B and the second partition valve heating device 42B are turned on Heat again.

When the evaporation material of the first crucible 12A of the first evaporator 13A disappears, the first crucible 12A may be transferred from the first crucible 12A to the second crucible 12B in the same order as described above.

(Effect of Embodiment)

In the above embodiment, when the second (first) crucible 12B (12A) is exchanged, the second (first) transfer pipe 14B (14A) is connected to the second (first) 35A and the crucible receptors 31B, 31A of the second (first) evaporator 13B, 13A are removed from the inlet of the second (first) transfer pipe 14B (14A) The first crucible 12B and the second crucible 12B are opened to the atmosphere and replaced with the new second crucible 12B and the new crucible 12B, Is connected to the inlet of the second (first) transfer pipe 14B (14A). The first (first) degassing valve 33B (33A) is opened and the second (first) degassing pipe 34B (34A) is opened in the second (first) 2 (1) The inside of the evaporator (13A) is deaerated. Therefore, when deposition is started by opening the second (first) partitioning valve 35B (35A), the atmosphere does not penetrate into the vacuum evaporation vessel 10, and therefore, it is necessary to deaerate the inside of the vacuum evaporation vessel 10 again There is no. The first and second evaporators 13A and 13B are connected to the first and second crucible receivers 31A and 31B and the first and second crucibles 12A and 12B and the first and second evaporation heaters It can be a simple structure by the devices 30A and 30B. Since it is possible to detach the first and second crucible receivers 31A and 31B and the first and second crucibles 12A and 12B to the first and second conveyance pipes 14A and 14B in the atmosphere, The workability of the replacement work of the second (first) crucible 12B (12A) can be improved as compared with the case of performing the replacement work.

When the second (first) crucible 12B (12A) is exchanged, the second (first) flow regulating valve 36B (36A) in a high temperature state is not exposed to the atmosphere, 1) Corrosion and deterioration of the flow control valves 36B and 36A can be greatly reduced. Further, the evaporation material is condensed in the second (first) flow rate regulating valve 36B (36A) by keeping the confluent pipe 16 and the second (first) flow rate regulating valve 36B (36A) It can be prevented from adhering and growing.

Although the two crucibles 12A and 12B are connected to the vacuum evaporation vessel 10 in the above embodiment, three or more crucibles may be used.

Claims (4)

A vacuum evaporation container for evacuating an evaporation material (evaporation material) from a deposition nozzle under a predetermined vacuum condition and for evaporating the evaporation material onto an object, a crucible containing the evaporation material, and a heating device for evaporation for heating the crucible At least two transfer tubes (transfer tubes) to which the respective evaporation apparatuses are respectively connected, and a merging tube for merging the evaporation materials discharged from the respective transfer tubes and delivering them to the deposition nozzles And at least two continuous deposition operation sections (continuous deposition operation sections) provided in the respective transfer tubes,
Each successive evaporation operating section includes a degassing pipe connected to the transfer pipe and having a degassing valve inserted thereinto sequentially from the evaporator side and a partition valve capable of closing and opening the transfer pipe, And a flow control valve capable of adjusting the flow rate of the evaporation material
Respectively,
The crucible of the evaporation apparatus connected to the conveyance pipe is opened to the atmosphere and replaced with a new crucible by closing the partition valve of the continuous evaporation operating unit corresponding to the crucible to be exchanged at the time of replacing the crucible, And a continuous vapor deposition controller for controlling to open the partitioning valve after opening the degassing valve to remove the air in the transfer tube from the degassing mechanism to a predetermined vacuum condition.
The method according to claim 1,
The transfer pipe, the partition valve, the flow rate control valve, and the confluent pipe,
The continuous deposition controller turns off the heating apparatus for evaporating the crucible and the heating apparatus for the conveyance pipe and the heating apparatus for the partition valve at the time of replacing the crucible and also turns on the heating apparatus for the flow rate adjusting valve and the heating apparatus for the merging tube The vacuum deposition apparatus comprising:
At least two vaporizing devices each having a vacuum vapor deposition container for drawing an evaporation material from a deposition nozzle under a predetermined vacuum condition and evaporating the evaporation material onto an object, a crucible containing the evaporation material and a heating device for evaporation for heating the crucible, At least two transfer tubes each of which is connected to each of the evaporation apparatuses; a confluence tube which joins the evaporation material discharged from each of the transfer tubes to a deposition nozzle, and a continuous deposition operation unit, A degassing valve connected to the transfer pipe between the evaporator and the confluence pipe and having a degassing valve inserted therein, a partition valve capable of closing and opening the transfer pipe, and a flow rate adjusting valve capable of adjusting the flow rate of the evaporation material Wherein in replacing the crucible of the evaporation apparatus,
A material replacing step of closing a partition valve of a continuous evaporation operating section corresponding to one evaporator that has supplied the evaporation material and opening a partition valve of a continuous evaporation operating section corresponding to the other evaporator,
A crucible replacing step of exchanging a crucible of the evaporator by opening the one evaporator to the atmosphere;
A vacuum processing step of opening a degassing valve of a continuous deposition operation section corresponding to one of the evaporation apparatuses to which the crucible has been exchanged and performing vacuum processing in the transfer tube of the continuous deposition operation section and in the evaporation apparatus;
A preheating step of heating the crucible of the one evaporating apparatus subjected to the vacuum treatment to the preheating temperature
Wherein the crucible is a crucible.
The method of claim 3,
The conveying pipe, the partitioning valve, the flow rate adjusting valve, and the confluent pipe of each successive evaporation operating section are heated to a temperature at which the evaporation material does not adhere to the condensation,
In the material replacing step and the crucible replacing step, heating of the flow rate adjusting valve of the continuous evaporation operating portion corresponding to one evaporator for exchanging the crucible is maintained, and heating of the partition valve and the transfer tube of the continuous evaporation operating portion is stopped Wherein said crucible is a crucible.

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